Steve Priest
Stephen Norman Priest
23 February 1948
Hayes, Middlesex, England
4 June 2020 (aged 72)
- Musician
- songwriter
- Bass
- vocals
1962–2020
Early life[edit]
Priest was born in Hayes, Middlesex.[2] He made his own bass guitar and began playing in local bands as a young teenager, after being influenced by artists such as Jet Harris of the Shadows, the Rolling Stones and The Who.[2]
Later career[edit]
During this 1980s, Priest largely reverted to private life but made occasional forays into production and session work, as well as collaborations with other artists such as David Arkenstone and future bandmate Stuart Smith.
Priest had a demo session in Los Angeles with the other members of the original Sweet in 1988, with Mike Chapman producing, to see if a studio album and reformation were possible. The band did not agree on terms and the project failed. Despite the difficulties of the late '70s, Priest continued his friendship with former Sweet lead singer Connolly, who was by now in poor health.
In 1994, Priest published his autobiography, Are You Ready Steve?, the title of which is taken from the intro to the Sweet's "The Ballroom Blitz" when Brian Connolly counts in the song with "Are you ready Steve? ...Andy? ...Mick? ...Alright fellas, let's gooooo!", and in 2006, he released a CD titled Priest's Precious Poems.[2] [8] In January 2008, Priest formed a new version of the Sweet, not related to Andy Scott's version of the band.[2]
This new band played mainly festivals and venues in the U.S. and Canada. In early 2009, the band released a live CD, recorded in August 2008 at the Morongo Casino in Cabazon, California.
While in New York, he formed a band called the Allies with guitarist Marco Delmar and drummer Steve Missal. Success was elusive, although their composition "Talk To Me" was featured in a film, Fast Food.